A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week
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Weekly Update for July 16, 2018
Association Updates

2018 PCSAO Conference: Registration is now open!
We’re so excited to announce that the registration for the 2018 PCSAO Conference is now open! Join us at the conference Sept. 19-21 in Columbus. The theme of this year’s conference is “The Child Protection Puzzle: Putting All the Pieces Together.” We strongly believe that collaborating and connecting essential components in child welfare are important in training and empowering our child protection workers. The conference will focus on efforts to highlight collective knowledge and best practices in child protection that lead to improving outcomes for children, youth and families. The conference provides a great opportunity to learn, gain important new skills, share knowledge and network with child protection communities. Download the  conference registration brochure   and then  register online   today!

Deadline for 2018 PCSAO award nominations extended to July 23
Each year at our conference, PCSAO recognizes the achievements of county PCSA supervisors, caseworkers, and support staff, as well as local journalists who have made extraordinary contributions toward promoting safe children, stable families and supportive communities. PCSAO also celebrates children, youth and families (primary/birth, kinship, foster, and adoptive) who have been served by Ohio’s public children services agencies. We are inviting all PCSAs to nominate outstanding staff, journalists, and rising stars. The deadline for award nominations has been extended to July 23. Download  the award nomination forms .

Rules update
Rules in pre-clearance: Ten rules in Chapter 5101:2-44 State Adoption Subsidy Program and three associated forms remain in pre-clearance and are open for comment until July 19. All are up for the five-year rule review and will be revised to delete incorrect form numbers, insert correct form numbers, and update the forms for clarification. You can review and make comments here .

Rules in clearance: As of July 12, no children services-related rules are in clearance.
Announcements and Resources

PCSA executive transitions
Melissa Flick, formerly a TAS with the Office of Families and Children, has been hired as the child welfare administrator for the three-county South Central Ohio JFS. Please join us in congratulating Melissa. 

Survey request from Annie E. Casey Foundation
The Annie E. Casey Foundation is dedicated to offering resources that are as effective as possible in helping leaders and decision makers achieve better outcomes and brighter futures for kids, families and communities. The Foundation has hired a consulting firm, The Collective Good, to gather feedback from professionals like you. If you have read one to three of the Foundation's publications (excluding KIDS COUNT publications) and would be willing to take a brief survey and possibly participate in a short interview, please click here by July 20 to get started. The Foundation will not know who has participated; responses will remain anonymous and will be reported in aggregate.
 
Family support opioid overdose toolkit released
Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed the Opioid Overdose Family Support Toolkit with support and resources for families, children and first responders impacted by opioid use and overdose. You can find the information on the Toolkit website

2018 Systems of Care Summit
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) and the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities (DoDD) are planning the 2018 Systems of Care (SOC) Summit to support ongoing education, networking, and sharing of new and innovative best practices for Ohio’s children and families with behavioral health needs. The target audience for the summit includes public and private providers and administrators of children, youth, and young adult behavioral health (mental health and substance use), child welfare, physical health, juvenile justice, and education systems. Youth and families are at the heart of this summit and as such will be invited to participate in all aspects of the summit. Mark your calendar, Sept. 14-15, and click here for more information.  
Child Protection in the News

A 5-year-old who can’t count to 10. A 3-year-old taken away from his parents after a skull fracture at just a few weeks old. A 7-year-old who had four surgeries before he turned three. A 2-year-old it took years to potty train.

Jul. 13 – Families connected by adoption – Lima News
Six siblings separated by foster care, three girls and three boys, were adopted Thursday by two separate families, possibly creating a much larger, blended family.

With her three children drifting to sleep in their cribs and toddler bed, Jessica Hollins sat in a rocking chair in the youngsters’ shared nursery, wanting them to feel her presence. By the glow of night lights and with soft music playing, she knitted a blanket for the little ones. 

The group home where a 13-year-old boy was staying when he drowned last weekend is now the focus of at least three investigations. Ohio's Department of Jobs and Family Services, Cleveland Metroparks and Cuyahoga County's Division of Children and Family Services ...
 
A committee of activists is recommending several changes to Cuyahoga County children's services following the death of 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett earlier this year. Aniya's death, allegedly at the hands of her mother and mother's boyfriend, sent shock waves through the community...

The Child Welfare Review Panel reviewing how Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services handled the case of 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett and their policies completed the case review on June 28, but ...
 
Family Specialist Natalie Reynolds joined the Kiwanis Club of Lima on Tuesday, speaking about a new program "30 Days to Family". Allen County Children Services is one of eight public children service agencies in Ohio, selected to participate in the 30 Days to Family program.

A nonprofit corporation seeking to establish a residential social service facility in Miami Twp. is opposed by neighbors who say it will focus on "foster care." Safe Ward Inc. wants to operate the facility - the first of its kind in the township, one resident said - at 2600 Eckley Blvd. to ...

Every penny will go to support RAHAB's newest safe house, which opens this fall for girls as young as 11 who have been prostituted, manipulated, coerced, deceived and held captive in Ohio - which ranks fourth in America for human trafficking, according to the Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.
 
Jul. 6 – Bill aims to help Ohio grandparents raising grandchildren – Lorain Morning Journal
A report released last year highlighted the growing trend of Ohio grandparents raising their grandchildren. According to the report, there are about 40,000 households in Ohio where grandparents live with grandkids. Report: 2016, State of Poverty, a Portrait of Ohio Families .
 
Jul. 2 – Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies Becomes Ohio Children's Alliance (Press release) – Ohio Children's Alliance -
In response to the changing landscape of child and family services, today the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies announced it has changed its name to the Ohio Children's Alliance.
 
In more than 10 percent of Ohio households, grandparents are the primarily caregivers for their grandchildren. And Sheila Gibbs, Lucas County Children Services family services manager, said upward of 60 percent of the 700 open child services cases result in children in the care of a relative.

Jul. 1 – Children's Services forms new support group Youngstown Vindicator
A new support group, SUCCEED, has formed in the Mahoning County for parents who have a current or past involvement with Mahoning County Children Services. This is a group made up of primary parents supporting each other and providing hope and empowerment.

Ohio teens would no longer be allowed to get married before 18 without an exception from a juvenile court, under a new bill passed by the Ohio House. House Bill 511, which passed unanimously in the House Wednesday, modifies Ohio law to generally make 18 the minimum age for marriage.
Upcoming Events

July 19 | Northwest District Meeting
July 20 | East Central District Meeting
July 23 | Southeast District Meeting

Employment Opportunities

Looking for a career in child protection? Or a new position to challenge yourself? Check out the latest job openings in child protection.

NEW! UPP graduates seeking employment at a PCSA are listed on our website.
Quote of the Week

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs
Public Children Services Association of Ohio | 614-224-5802 | www.pcsao.org
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